Fallen Idol (TV series episode)
Fallen Idol was the 125th episode of the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H. The episode, which was the third episode of Season 6, was written by Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell, and directed by Hy Averback. It originally aired on September 27, 1977. Storyline Radar wants to be a hot lover, so Hawkeye sends him to Seoul to find a nice girl and let nature take its course, only later to find Radar has been wounded and all eyes turn to him. Full episode summary Radar, feeling insecure about his relative lack of "experience" as ladies' man, expresses himself to Hawkeye and B.J. in the Swamp. Hawkeye says if it's bothering him so much, he should just go to Seoul and "meet a nice girl and let nature take its course." B.J. is dubious, but Hawkeye badgers Radar until he decides Hawkeye is right, and he grabs a Jeep and heads out. Later, wounded arrive, and we see that one of them is Radar. This is horrifying to Hawkeye, who is feeling overwhelmingly guilty about sending Radar "out into the middle of a war on a date." He insists on performing the surgery on Radar, and it goes perfectly. But its Hawkeye himself who is having problems - he and B.J. go to Rosie's Bar and get drunk, and all Hawkeye can talk about is how guilty he feels about getting Radar hurt. The next day, wounded arrive again, early, and Hawkeye is hung over. He staggers his way into O.R., but in the middle of a patient he has to run outside and throw up. B.J. is apologetic, Col. Potter is furious, Winchester is amused and snide. Potter and Hawkeye have a talk, and Hawkeye apologizes and explains what's going on. Potter tells Hawkeye to go visit Radar in Post Op, but Hawkeye feels like he can't quite find the courage to do it. But later, he finds the nerve to do it, and visits. Radar calls him "sir", which puts Hawkeye off. Then their talk quickly devolves into an argument - Radar is harsh and judgmental, saying that Hawkeye let people down by walking out on a patient that morning. This enrages Hawkeye, telling Radar off and finally standing over him, yelling "The hell with you....I'm not here for you to admire. I'm here to pull bodies out of a sausage grinder, if possible. without going crazy." He then calls Radar "a ninny" for crying, and storms out. Back in the Swamp, Hawkeye can't believe he blew up like that. Father Mulcahy stops by to chastise Hawkeye, followed by Col. Potter, then Margaret, who never gets her shot because Hawkeye storms out of the tent to correct his mistake. He returns to Post Op to apologize, but Radar is having none of it - he dismisses Hawkeye, telling him to shove off. Hawkeye leaves, feeling ashamed. Winchester is the only one sympathetic to Hawkeye's plight, feeling similar pressure himself. Later, Col. Potter comes to visit Radar, and they talk, and Potter tries to get Radar to see that he and Hawkeye may get along even better now that they're a little more "eye to eye." Radar is non-committal. A few days later, they both find themselves in Rosie's Bar, and it's like two strangers talking. They talk about the weather, the bad breakfast, everything but what they need to discuss. Finally, Hawkeye levels with Radar, and apologizes. Radar responds, trying to relieve Hawkeye of the guilt of getting him wounded. He also mentions that, from here on in, that he "just as soon not" worship Hawkeye like he did before. Their friendship restored, they trade their drink orders. Radar takes Hawkeye's beer, and Hawkeye takes Radar's Grape Nehi. Later, Hawkeye has something for Radar - a Purple Heart. He then does something he has rarely done to anyone - he gives Radar an official military salute. Fun facts *Radar is wearing his paratrooper scarf as he drives the jeep down to Seoul. This scarf is mentioned in "The Chosen People". He also wears this on dates as in "Springtime" and "For Want of a Boot". Guest stars/Recurring cast *Frances Fong as Rosie *Patricia Stevens as Nurse Baker *Robin Riker as Nurse Perry *Larry Gilman as G.I. #1 *Michael Talbott as G.I. #2 External links *[http://www.tv.com/shows/mash/fallen-idol-43324/ M*A*S*H episode Fallen Idol at TV.com] *[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0638304/ M*A*S*H episode Fallen Idol at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)] Category:Season 6 episodes